The UEFA Europa League - Is there any point in it?

By Simon Wright (Personal viewpoint)

EUROPE’s second premier club competition began last night, as the third edition of the UEFA Europa League returned.  However, is there any prestige in this competition for let’s be honest; the second-rate sides in European club football.

     The UEFA Europa League made its debut on the football scene in the 2009/10 season, following the decision to restructure the even worse UEFA Cup.  Back in the 90s, there were three European competitions, which were merged into two in 1999, when the Cup Winners Cup was ditched.  The old UEFA Cup format had an opening first round, a tedious and pathetic second group phase where losing two of your four group matches was normally okay to progress, then more knockout football until a predictably drab final.  British success in this competition was fairly normal though, with Liverpool winning it in 2001 following that amazing 5-4 final against Alaves in Dortmund.  Both Celtic and Middlesbrough made it all the way to the final and if it wasn’t for UEFA Cup glory in 2003, the name Jose Mourinho would still largely have been unheard of. 

     The new format of the Europa League does make the competition a bit more entertaining to watch, despite the demanding schedule.  Four qualifying rounds are followed by 48 teams proceeding into a typical group stage.  Twelve groups of four teams, with the sides competing playing each other home and away, like the Champions League.  After Christmas, the 24 sides that ended first and second go into the third round, joined by the eight ‘lucky losers’ who finished third in their UEFA Champions League groups.  From there on, knockout football takes place until the final at the beginning of May, which this year, will be held in Bucharest, Romania.  The final play-off round this year saw the likes of AS Roma, Sevilla, Panathinaikos and Palermo knocked out before even reaching the group phase; teams you would expect to be around in the final reckoning.

    This season, Britain will be represented by five sides.  After winning the Carling Cup in February, Birmingham City enter Europe, despite playing in the Npower Championship.  After reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season, Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham start rightfully as favourites.  Two years after their historic run to the final in Hamburg under Roy Hodgson, Fulham are back in the Europa League, with Martin Jol in charge.  Stoke City embark on their first continental campaign in over 40 years, a fitting reward for their run to the FA Cup final last season.  Finally, Celtic earnt a reprieve into the competition, after the side that beat them in the final playoff round; FC Sion, were expelled for fielding ineligible players against the Scottish side.  However, it wasn’t a great start for the British teams last night in the opening set of fixtures.  Celtic lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid, Fulham were held 1-1 at home by dangerous Dutch side FC Twente, Birmingham got soundly beaten 3-1 at home by last year’s uninspiring runners-up Sporting Braga, Tottenham escaped with a 0-0 draw from Greece against PAOK Salonika and Stoke held Dynamo Kiev to a 1-1 stalemate in the Ukraine, coming so close to a historic win.

     With the extra demand on playing Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons every fortnight, most Premiership managers will see it being a poisoned chalice rather than a reward to play in the UEFA Europa League and I can’t blame them.  For example, my team Liverpool missed out on European football this season for the first time since 2000.  Although the club won’t get any of those special Euro evenings at Anfield, lose a bit of income from television revenue and ticket sales, it is predicted that Kenny Dalglish will see a major benefit for not being in an extra competition which, providing going all the way, will consist of another 20 matches!  Not only does it mean that Liverpool can focus more on the domestic cup competitions, but it provides a far clearer run than say Tottenham in the fight for fourth place in the Premiership. 

     Despite the added demand, I’m disappointed that many clubs, not just English ones don’t treat the competition with the respect it does deserve.  Once you are in it, you should do what you can to win it and it can provide memorable moments for the fans.  The UEFA Europa League is the perfect competition to blood some of the youngsters in your squad into battle.  Harry Redknapp has sent this message across already, by controversially leaving the gifted Rafael van der Vaart out of his 25-man Europa squad until the knockout stages at the earliest.  Although I admire Harry’s determination to play the youngsters, he hasn’t got the right balance.  After all, the fans and TV viewers want to see the likes of Bale, Lennon, van der Vaart, Defoe and Modric – not Livermore, Kane, Obika and Cudicini.  Youth policy has worked in this competition before.  Chris Smalling would never got his move to Manchester United had he not featured for Fulham in the early stages of the 2009/10 competition and Hodgson used the group stages to gives the likes of Martin Kelly, Jonjo Shelvey and Jay Spearing a chance in Liverpool’s first team last season; without compensating for a swift early exit too.  I love to see youth given a go, but it is frustrating to see some treat it better than others and that leads me to the question; if you don’t want to take it seriously, don’t bother qualifying for it.

     This season’s competition does have the likes of Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Schalke 04 and PSG – but they aren’t the Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and AC Milan of today’s world.  I think UEFA have found the right balance and don’t need to make swift changes to the UEFA Europa League.  It works well but should be taken far more seriously.  Otherwise, you have to question its general worth.  Channel Five don’t bite!

20 years of the FA Premier League - Part 3

2002/03

HAVING ended the previous season empty-handed, Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United were determined for revenge in 2002/03 and they hunted Arsenal down successfully to regain the Premiership title.  It was their eighth success in 11 years.  Despite having broken the British transfer record to sign Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United for £30million; old frailties seemed to be around Ferguson’s team early in the season.  Bolton beat them at Old Trafford for the second successive season, with Leeds and Manchester City (in the last Manchester derby at Maine Road) also inflicting early season defeats.  Meanwhile, Arsenal and Liverpool both started the season in sensational fashion.  Liverpool went 12 games unbeaten at the start of the season, but then endured a miserable run in wintertime.  Gerard Houiller’s side went 11 games without a win, dropped to 7^th and saw their title challenge melt away.  However, Arsenal continued to fly, with Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord and Robert Pires all in great form.  On March 2, they beat Charlton Athletic at Highbury 2-0 to extend their points advantage over Manchester United to eight points.  Gradually, United took bites out of the deficit, until they overhauled them before a Highbury face-off in mid-April.  Ruud Van Nistlerooy swung the Premiership pendulum United’s way with an early goal, but two Henry strikes in the opening moments of the second half turned the game around.  A free header from Ryan Giggs drew the sides level, before Sol Campbell was sent off controversially for an accidental elbow into the face of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.  The game finished 2-2, and injuries and suspensions took their toll on Wenger’s side.  Ten days later, they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw at Bolton and a week later, it was all over.  Marc Viduka’s 87^th minute winner was not only enough for Leeds to win 3-2 at Highbury and ensure Premiership football at Elland Road for another season, but give the title to one of their bitter rivals.  Newcastle United launched a brief title assault, with Sir Bobby Robson’s exciting young side finishing a creditable third.  Chelsea took the final Champions League spot on offer, as Claudio Ranieri penniless side won the £25million showdown with Liverpool on the final day of the season.  Little did we know of the drama and the new investment to enter West London that summer!  The stress of management was also shown as Glenn Roeder collapsed and was taken to hospital after West Ham beat Middlesbrough 1-0 on April 21.  Trevor Brooking took over the reins, but he couldn’t save his beloved club from shock relegation on the final day of the season.

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Arsenal 3^rd: Newcastle United, 4^th: Chelsea 5^th: Liverpool, 6^th: Blackburn Rovers, 7^th: Everton, 8^th; Southampton, 9^th: Manchester City, 10^th: Tottenham

RELEGATED: West Ham United, West Brom, Sunderland

BIGGEST WIN: West Brom 0-6 Liverpool (26 April 2003)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Manchester United 5-3 Newcastle United (23 November 2002), Newcastle United 2-6 Manchester United (12 April 2003), West Ham United 3-4 Leeds United (10 November 2002)

SCORERS: Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 25, Henry (Arsenal) 24, Beattie (Southampton) 23, Viduka (Leeds) 20, Owen (Liverpool) 19, Shearer (Newcastle) 17, Scholes (Manchester United) 14, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Anelka (Manchester City) 14, Zola (Chelsea) 14, Keane (Leeds & Tottenham) 14, Kewell (Leeds) 14, Sheringham (Tottenham) 12, Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 11, Radzinski (Everton) 11

2003/04

ONE team dominated the 2003/04 season and totally rewrote the football history books.  On Saturday May 15 2004, Arsenal beat Leicester City 2-1 to complete a truly remarkable feat.  Not since Preston North End in 1888 had this happened.  A team had gone unbeaten for an entire league season.  The Gunners record was; P38, W26, D12, L0.  Arsene Wenger had completed total football perfection.  The turning point of their season was an early showdown with Manchester United at Old Trafford.  The match was disappointing, finishing 0-0.  However, it exploded into life in the closing stages.  Already angered by Patrick Vieira’s dismissal, Arsenal were even more incensed when Diego Forlan went down in stoppage time under a Martin Keown challenge.  Ruud Van Nistlerooy, involved in the Vieira scuffle, hit the crossbar from the penalty, and then, all hell broke loose.  Eight players were charged, with six Gunners players getting up to 18 games in total of suspensions.  After that, Arsenal let their football do the talking, rather than the aggression they showed on that awful day.  Whilst the Gunners were achieving record after record, Chelsea began spending money almost as lavishly at Harrods.  Roman Abramovich bought the club from Ken Bates in June and gave the club fortunes to spend in the transfer market.  In came the likes of Wayne Bridge, Claude Makelele, Damien Duff, Glen Johnson and Adrian Mutu and in also came a new force in the Premiership reckoning.  Chelsea topped the table on merit at the end of November and finished second, their best finish in the league since winning in 1955.  Claudio Ranieri’s reward was the sack.  Manchester United finished a distant third in the table, hobbled by Rio Ferdinand’s eight month suspension he received before Christmas for missing a drugs test.  Amongst their shock defeats was a 1-0 loss away to newly promoted Wolves in January.  Both Liverpool and Newcastle United had very inconsistent seasons, although they just about managed to scrap it out for the final Champions League spot.  A run of four wins in a row towards the season’s end meant Liverpool finished in the coveted fourth position, but Gerard Houiller lost his job after an abject campaign which saw his side finish a mammoth 30 points behind the champions.  Many other established clubs had dismal seasons too.  Tottenham sacked Glenn Hoddle in September, were in the bottom three at the turn of the year and only finished 14^th, whilst Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Everton finished in the bottom six after dreadful seasons.  Worse befall Leeds United however.  Champions League semi-finalists three years earlier, Leeds were relegated as their financial mess imploded with more star players being sold and total disarray in the boardroom.  Leicester City and Wolves went straight back down too, but Portsmouth finished a very creditable 13^th in their first season back in the top flight.

CHAMPIONS: Arsenal, 2^nd: Chelsea 3^rd: Manchester United, 4^th: Liverpool 5^th: Newcastle United, 6^th: Aston Villa, 7^th: Charlton Athletic, 8^th; Bolton Wanderers, 9^th: Fulham, 10^th: Birmingham City

RELEGATED: Leicester City, Leeds United, Wolves

BIGGEST WIN: Portsmouth 6-1 Leeds United (8 November 2003)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Manchester City 6-2 Bolton Wanderers (18 October 2003), Tottenham Hotspur 4-4 Leicester City (22 February 2004), Middlesbrough 5-3 Birmingham City (21 March 2004)

SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 30, Shearer (Newcastle) 22, Saha (Fulham & Manchester United) 20, Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 20, Forssell (Birmingham) 17, Owen (Liverpool) 16, Angel (Aston Villa) 16, Yakubu (Portsmouth) 16, Anelka (Manchester City) 16, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Beattie (Southampton) 14, Keane (Tottenham) 14, Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 12, Ferdinand (Leicester) 12

2004/05

JOSE Mourinho was welcomed into the Premiership and his mission was simple; to deliver Chelsea their first championship in 50 years.  Along the way, he not only mastered the English game, but revolutionised Chelsea’s fortunes.  On Saturday April 30, the inspirational Frank Lampard scored twice to seal a 2-0 win at Bolton and complete Chelsea’s dream.  They became Premiership champions for the first time.  Not only that, but they rewrote the Premiership history books.  Mourinho’s men only conceded 18 goals all season, whilst new goalkeeper Petr Cech broke the record for the number of minutes he kept goal without conceding.  The Blues managed 95 points, won 27 games, which was the most ever in a 38-game season and lost only once (1-0 at Manchester City on October 16).  Blue really was the colour in 2004/05.  Established contenders Arsenal and Manchester United were forced to play second fiddle.  The Red Devils did manage to end Arsenal’s incredible unbeaten run at 49 games, after another bruising encounter between the two teams at Old Trafford ended 2-0 in United’s favour on October 24.  However, it was Arsenal who had the last laugh and finished second, ensuring automatic qualification for the Champions League.  Having sold star striker Wayne Rooney to Manchester United and been relegation favourites in pre-season, Everton defied all the critics to finish an outstanding fourth in the league, despite a humiliating 7-0 defeat at Arsenal towards the season’s end.  It meant that Everton beat Liverpool in the league table for the first time since 1987, although Rafa Benitez did mastermind an incredible Champions League triumph in his first season at the club.  A new manager became the new fashion this season too with Paul Sturrock (Southampton), Sir Bobby Robson (Newcastle), Gary Megson (West Brom) and Jacques Santini (Tottenham) among those to lose their jobs in the first three months of the season.  Graeme Souness was given the task of managing Newcastle, but he couldn’t stop an amazing incident in April, when two of his midfielders, Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer started fighting during a match at home to Aston Villa.  Both were sent off and banned and 14^th place was the final outcome.  At the bottom of the table, Norwich City, Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Brom got locked in an intense dogfight all season.  On ‘Survival Sunday,’ Norwich had their fate in their own hands, but lost 6-0 at Fulham and went straight back down.  Harry Redknapp failed to mastermind Southampton’s sorry season and their 27 year stay in the top flight was ended by a 1-2 loss at home to Manchester United.  West Brom beat Portsmouth 2-0 and a late Charlton equaliser from Jonathan Fortune at home to Crystal Palace was enough for the Baggies to stay up.  In doing so, West Brom became the first team ever to stay up in the Premiership, having been bottom of the table on Christmas Day.

CHAMPIONS: Chelsea, 2^nd: Arsenal 3^rd: Manchester United, 4^th: Everton 5^th: Liverpool, 6^th: Bolton Wanderers, 7^th: Middlesbrough, 8^th; Manchester City, 9^th: Tottenham, 10^th: Aston Villa

RELEGATED: Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Southampton

BIGGEST WIN: Arsenal 7-0 Everton (11 May 2005)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Tottenham Hotspur 4-5 Arsenal (13 November 2004), Arsenal 5-3 Middlesbrough (22 August 2004), Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 Everton (1 January 2005)

SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 25, Johnson (Crystal Palace) 21, Pires (Arsenal) 14, Lampard (Chelsea) 13, Hasselbaink (Middlesbrough) 13, Defoe (Tottenham) 13, Yakubu (Portsmouth) 13, Gudjohnsen (Chelsea) 12, Cole (Fulham) 12, Crouch (Southampton) 12, Rooney (Manchester United) 11, Cahill (Everton) 11, Fowler (Manchester City) 11, Keane (Tottenham) 11, Earnshaw (West Brom) 11

2005/06

FOR the second successive season, Chelsea totally dominated the Premiership, winning the league by eight points from nearest rivals, Manchester United.  At times, Chelsea had leads in the table as big as 15 points.  They were top of the league from the third week onwards, kept clean sheets in their first six Premiership games and never looked threatened.  They won the league in crowning style, on the penultimate weekend of the season.  Goals from William Gallas, Joe Cole and Ricardo Carvalho spearheaded Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Manchester United, which highlighted the gulfing class between the two sides.  Liverpool had a much better domestic campaign this time around, winning ten games in a row between October and December and achieving a similar run from March to May.  The Anfield club also gave Robbie Fowler an emotional return in January, when he signed from Manchester City.  Four goals in the season run-in earnt him an extra season on Merseyside.  Whilst Fowler continued, Alan Shearer retired at the end of the season.  Sadly, injury forced the decision prematurely three weeks earlier than anticipated, but his final involvement was scoring a penalty at the Stadium of Light against Tyneside rivals Sunderland.  Whilst Newcastle finished seventh in the table, Sunderland had a horrific campaign.  They wound up with 13 points, which for two seasons, was the worst total ever in Premiership history.  The Black Cats only managed three wins all season and sacked Mick McCarthy in March.  After walking out on Portsmouth a year earlier to manage bitter South Coast rivals Southampton, Harry Redknapp returned to Fratton Park, and ‘Harry Houdini’ inspired the club to an incredible run of form that kept them in the Premiership.  They were eight points adrift of safety in March, but two Pedro Mendes strikes against Manchester City were the catalyst for the dramatic upturn in fortunes.  Portsmouth’s revival meant Birmingham City were relegated, just two years after finishing in the top half of the league and West Brom also couldn’t hold onto their Premier League status.  After 93 years at Highbury, time ran out on the glorious stadium as Arsenal got prepared for life at their new home.  Plus, the new 60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium could welcome Champions League football after a dramatic final day.  For much of the season, a disastrous away record meant Arsenal trailed the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and newcomers Wigan Athletic in the table.  They went into the final day a single point behind Tottenham and fell 1-2 behind at home to Wigan on Highbury’s final day.  However, the King of Highbury, Thierry Henry, said farewell in the grand manner.  He scored a hat-trick to complete a 4-2 victory.  Dodgy food chef or not, Tottenham folded at Upton Park, losing 2-1 at West Ham, which meant they were pipped to the final Champions League spot right at the end of the campaign.   

CHAMPIONS: Chelsea, 2^nd: Manchester United 3^rd: Liverpool, 4^th: Arsenal 5^th: Tottenham, 6^th: Blackburn Rovers, 7^th: Newcastle United, 8^th; Bolton Wanderers, 9^th: West Ham United, 10^th: Wigan

RELEGATED: West Brom, Birmingham City, Sunderland

BIGGEST WIN: Arsenal 7-0 Middlesbrough (14 January 2006)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Blackburn Rovers 4-3 Manchester United (2 February 2006), Charlton Athletic 2-5 Manchester City (4 December 2005), Fulham 6-1 West Brom (12 February 2006)

SCORERS: Henry (Arsenal) 27, Van Nistlerooy (Manchester United) 21, Bent (Charlton) 18, Lampard (Chelsea) 16, Rooney (Manchester United) 16, Keane (Tottenham) 16, Harewood (West Ham) 14, Bellamy (Blackburn) 13, Yakubu (Middlesbrough) 13, Drogba (Chelsea) 12, Camara (Wigan) 12, Mido (Tottenham) 11, John (Fulham) 11, Gerrard (Liverpool) 10, Shearer (Newcastle) 10

2006/07

CHELSEA’s two year domination of the Premiership crown ended in 2006/07, as Manchester United became champions once again.  United secured the league title at the beginning of May, with a 1-0 win at Eastlands against goal shy Manchester City.  24 hours later, Khalid Boulahrouz was sent off and Chelsea failed to beat Arsenal at the Emirates, drawing 1-1.  This meant that Jose Mourinho’s team had to gracefully give up the title.  Manchester United were inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo, who finally began to show some consistent form at club level, which would make him one of the world’s best footballers in years to come.  Late winners away from home at Fulham and Liverpool on two successive Saturdays in springtime turned out to be very decisive for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, despite a late slip-up against Portsmouth and a frustrating home draw with Middlesbrough.  Chelsea ended up drawing their last five matches, and tensions clearly were beginning to rise between owner and manager.  Jose Mourinho didn’t seem impressed with Roman Abramovich’s interference in purchasing both Michael Ballack and Andrei Shevchenko.  Neither player made a significant impact at Stamford Bridge.  Key injuries to the likes of John Terry and Petr Cech also had their effects on Chelsea’s season.  Liverpool edged out Arsenal by a single point, but both clubs had inconsistent campaigns.  There seemed to be positive news from Anfield in February, when George Gillett and Tom Hicks completed a deal to buy the club.  Sadly, the promises made by the pair of success and a new stadium were broken and dark days in the long-term faced the Anfield side.  The other big story of the season was West Ham’s controversial signings of Argentine pair Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.  The club had broken Premier League third-party ownership regulations and the clubs fighting around them such as Sheffield United and Wigan Athletic were incensed when the Premier League decided on giving the Hammers a fine rather than a points deduction.  Alan Pardew was sacked in December by the new owners and Mascherano moved away from the controversy to sign for Liverpool.  However, Tevez scored a flurry of late season goals, which ultimately kept the Hammers, now managed by Alan Curbishley, up.  The great escape was completed by a last day victory at Old Trafford, with Tevez scoring the deciding goal again.  Wigan beat Sheffield United 2-1 at Bramwall Lane, which meant their Premiership adventure cruelly ended after one season back in the top flight.  Not only that, the deciding goal came from a David Unsworth penalty.  Unsworth had started the season as a Sheffield United player!  A similar fate of one season in the top flight befell Watford, whilst Charlton Athletic paid the price for sacking two managers and also were relegated. 

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United, 2^nd: Chelsea 3^rd: Liverpool, 4^th: Arsenal 5^th: Tottenham, 6^th: Everton, 7^th: Bolton Wanderers, 8^th; Reading, 9^th: Portsmouth, 10^th: Blackburn Rovers

RELEGATED: Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic, Watford

BIGGEST WIN: Reading 6-0 West Ham United (1 January 2007)

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Arsenal 6-2 Blackburn Rovers (23 December 2006), West Ham United 3-4 Tottenham Hotspur (4 March 2007), Blackburn Rovers 4-2 Manchester City (17 September 2006)

SCORERS: Drogba (Chelsea) 20, McCarthy (Blackburn) 18, Ronaldo (Manchester United) 17, Rooney (Manchester United) 14, Viduka (Middlesbrough) 14, Doyle (Reading) 13, Bent (Charlton) 13, Kuyt (Liverpool) 12, Berbatov (Tottenham) 12, Yakubu (Middlesbrough) 12, Lampard (Chelsea) 11, Van Persie (Arsenal) 11, Anelka (Bolton) 11, Zamora (West Ham) 11, Johnson (Everton) 11

UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals, 1st Leg - Favourites on course

MANCHESTER United and Barcelona look all set to stage the 2011 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on May 28.  This is after both team’s earnt crucial and almost match-winning advantages in the first legs of the two Champions League semi-finals.

     Goals from Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney in Gelsenkirchen saw Manchester United canter to a 2-0 win away from home, at Schalke 04.  United completely dominated the match from start-to-finish, which clearly must show how bad Inter Milan are, if Schalke (10^th in the Bundesliga) can dismantle them in the quarter-finals.  In fact, had it not been for a man-of-the-match performance from German no.1 Manuel Neuer, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team could have won by a cricket score.  The second leg at Old Trafford should be nothing more than a formality on Wednesday.

OFF: Pepe looks astounded at his dismissal from 'El Classico'

     24 hours later, we saw the ridiculous and the sublime in the latest ‘El Classico’ saga at the Bernabeau.  The contest between Real Madrid and Barcelona seemed more akin to a wrestling match, rather than a football game.  However, it should be the brilliance of Lionel Messi which is remembered, as Barca take a 2-0 advantage back to the Nou Camp for a bruising second leg tomorrow night.  Three players were sent off, though one of those was only on the pitch.  Barcelona’s reserve goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto saw red, for being the main figure in an unsavoury touchline brawl as the players disappeared for half-time.  In the second half, Pepe became the fourth Real Madrid player to see the red card in an ‘El Classico’ game this season.  His challenge on Dani Alves was late and high, but only warranted a yellow card.  Alves’s spectacular acrobatics and the number of Barcelona players crowing the inadequate referee from Germany, Wolfgang Stark, sealed Pepe’s fate.  In fact, why don’t we give Alves a gold medal for his somersaults, rolling antics!  He is an unsporting player if there ever was one; such a shame for his undoubted talent.  Seconds later, Jose Mourinho had too much to say to the UEFA officials and was promptly sent away from the touchline and locked behind a security gate.  Mourinho’s bitter post-match press conference might land him in further hot water with the authorities and when you start blaming UNICEF for your defeat; then this suggest that Mourinho is a very sore loser.

     Enough of the bickering, let’s remember Messi’s genius, which lit up this drab and silly semi-final.  He escaped the attentions of Xabi Alonso to finish off Ibrahim Afellay’s cross with fifteen minutes remaining, giving Barcelona the crucial away goal.  Ten minutes later, Messi went on a weaving run; leaving four defenders for dead and slotting past Iker Casillas to score one of the greatest goals ever seen in Champions League history.  Can anyone stop Messi?  Well, he’s Manchester United’s problem now!  The second legs this week are nothing more than playing through the motions now.

UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 - Sensational Spurs stun Champions

WITH 53 goals in this week’s UEFA Champions League matches, there was plenty of action and drama.  Take a bow Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, the first three teams to qualify for the knockout stages, whilst Partizan Belgrade, Buraspor and MSK Zilina now have no hope of progressing past the group stages.  However, it was another debut club that rocked Europe this week. . .

It was another glory night for the new Welsh wizard Gareth Bale, as he tore Inter Milan to shreds for the second time in a fortnight.  Bale led Spurs to a famous 3-1 win over the European Champions, leaving them top of Group A.  Returning from suspension, Rafael van der Vaart opened the scoring from Luka Modric’s wonderfully executed pass.  In the second half, Bale took over, leaving the likes of Maicon and Lucio trailing in his wake.  His first tormenting run and cross set-up Peter Crouch for a tidy goal.  A great goal from Samuel Eto’o gave Inter hope with ten minutes to go, but Rafa Benitez could only look on as Bale went on another breathtaking run down the left-hand side and produced the perfect pass for Roman Pavyluchenko to wrap it up.  A win against Werder Bremen in three weeks time wraps up qualification for Tottenham, who have bought something fresh to this year’s competition. 

Whilst Tottenham were producing the performance of the tournament so far, North London rivals Arsenal had an off-night in the Ukraine, losing 2-1 to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.  Arsene Wenger only took 18 players with him, due to injuries, though he will be disappointed with their lack of maturity here, especially as he still had Samir Nasri, Thomas Rosicky and Jack Wiltshire in his starting eleven.  Theo Walcott did have the Gunners infront after ten minutes, with his own devastating pace leading to a crisp finish after a magnificent counter attacking move.  By half-time, Arsenal’s stroll through the group had come to an abrupt halt against a Shakhtar side that looked totally different from the team that surrendered so meekly at the Emirates two weeks earlier.  Jadson’s free-kick was turned into his own net inadvertently by youngster Craig Eastmond.  Then, a terrible error by Gael Clichy allowed Darijo Srna to cross for ex-Arsenal striker Eduardo to score with the last kick of the first half.  Arsenal weren’t disgraced, but will need to dismiss themselves of these slip-ups, especially when it matter so much more in the latter stages.

On a mild November night in London, Chelsea’s progress was never in doubt, coasting to a 4-1 triumph over Spartak Moscow, which seals their progression from Group F.  Only a point is needed now to secure top spot too.  Carlo Ancelotti took the opportunity to rest John Terry and Michael Essien, and after a subdued first half, Chelsea clicked into top gear in the second half.  Nicolas Anelka opened the scoring from a tight angle that looked almost impossible to establish a lead.  Didier Drogba, making his fashionably late entrance into the Champions League scored a penalty shortly afterwards, before Branislav Ivanovic scored two goals that even Drogba would be proud of.  Although Bazhenov scored a consolation for the visitors, Chelsea’s first Champions League goal conceded in 300 minutes, it was another stroll in the park for the English champions.

A far superior Manchester United virtually secured their traditional passage through, with an emphatic 3-0 win in Turkey against Buraspor.  Frustrated in the first half, United took command in the second half once Darren Fletcher broke the deadlock.  Gabriel Obertan scored his first United goal in some style, with a ferocious effort, before Bebe netted on his European debut.  This was a comfortable win for the pacesetters in Group C.

However, Rangers now face a massive task to join United in the knockout stages after losing 3-0 in Spain to Valencia.  It was a very busy night for Allan McGregor, who produced a series of cracking saves, but he couldn’t prevent Roberto Soldado scoring two goals, and a fine stoppage time volley from substitute Ricardo Costa, that wrapped up proceedings.  Steven Naismith did hit the post twice for the Scottish league leaders and the scoreline was harsh on Rangers, but it was a very disappointing and potentially costly result.

Jose Mourinho returned to the San Siro and witnessed his Real Madrid side advance into the knockout stages, after they rescued a point against AC Milan.  It was a thrilling match, with Milan turning the game on its head through two more goals from one of the deadliest poachers in the European game, super sub Flippo Inzaghi.  It was Real’s own sub, Pedro Leon who scored a stoppage time equaliser that still leaves Milan with work to do, in joining Madrid to go through from Group G. 

Bayern Munich also sealed their place through into the next stage, after they outclassed CFR Cluj in Romania, winning 4-0.  Bayern are already ten points behind Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, and with Arjen Robben, Miroslav Klose and Ivica Olic all out injured at the moment, Louis van Gaal has lots of problems domestically.  However, Mario Gomez hit a hat-trick in this masterful performance.  Another team out of their depth in the Champions League is MSK Zilina, beaten 7-0 at home by Marseille in Group F.  There was a hat-trick from Andre-Pierre Gignac, as Marseille became the first team to score seven away from home in the Champions League.  Lyon lost their 100% record on Tuesday night in Group B, going down 4-3 in Portugal to Benfica, who were 4-0 with 15 minutes to go.  Talented winger Fabio Coentrao was on target twice for the home side and a feisty meeting in Denmark saw FC Copenhagen draw 1-1 with Barcelona in Group D, which saw coaches Solde Solbakken and Pepe Guardiola have a bust-up at full-time.  

For some, the dream of reaching Wembley is already over, but for others, they have sent out their fearful messages and it’s looking good for all four English clubs to progress past Christmas.  Matchday four though belongs to Tottenham Hotspur and its wonderful Welshman, Gareth Bale.  

UEFA Champions League Final - Magic In Madrid For Mourinho

Last night, the city of magnificent Madrid belonged to the magic that is Jose Mourinho.  And it probably will for a good time to come, if the rumours are to be believed that he is destined for future management at the Bernabeau. 

His Inter Milan side coasted to a solid and impressive 2-0 success in the UEFA Champions League final, against a limp Bayern Munich side.  Inter didn’t need to be spectacular to seal their success, but their strengths in Jose’s tactical gameplay saw him overcome his mentor at Barcelona at the beginning of the century, Louis van Gaal.  Argentine Diego Milito, who has scored thirty goals in Serie A this season was the natural difference between the two sides, who two quality finishes that will have an on looking Diego Maradona licking his lips in anticipation with the World Cup just three weeks later.  Milito’s deadly finishing will have the likes of Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero worried over a first-team place ahead of the Argies opening group game against Nigeria on June 12^th.

After a bright opening, Inter faded badly, but against the run of play, took the crucial advantage ten minutes before half-time.  Julio Cesar’s hopeful kick up field found Milito, who combined brilliantly with the Inter playmaker, Wesley Snejider.  An interchange of passes followed, and Milito left his national countryman Martin Demichellis for dead, before coolly dispatching his effort past the advancing Hans-Jorg Butt.  After the break, Bayern attempted to get back into the game and their young German striker Thomas Muller came close, thwarted by the excellent Cesar, whose goalkeeping seems to get better with every passing match.  With twenty minutes to go and the dynamic Miroslav Klose on the pitch, Munich was ready to throw everything at the Italian defence, notably without a single Italian in the starting eleven.  However, just as they attempted this tactic, Inter produced another of those traditional breakaways, sealing the match in clinical fashion.

Snejider was fouled in the build-up, but English referee Howard Webb, who had a faultless game played on and the ball eventually reached Milito, who once again had the firm measure of Demichellis and his centre-back partner, Daniel Van Buyten.  Once again, his finish was emphatic, leaving Butt without a hope and Bayern without a prayer.  Van Gaal’s side looked inept of ideas, with Franck Ribery suspended and Arjen Robben man-marked by the experienced duo of Christian Chivu and Javier Zanetti. 

So, it was Mourinho’s night as he wrapped up a historic treble for Inter and their first European Cup in over forty years.  Time and again, they have flattered to deceive in this competition, as the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United have brushed them aside with apparent ease.  It took the ‘Special One’ to unlock the cherished grail as he became only the third coach to win the European Cup with two different clubs.  Both Chelsea and Barcelona tumbled out to the Italians, who have firmly established themselves as a real leading powerhouse in European football.  However, whether the magic that Mourinho has will be passed onto his successor remains to be seen.  Jose Mourinho’s mission was for Inter Milan to become Champions of Europe, and this he had achieved.  Next destination surely is to tackle Barcelona’s dominance of La Liga with the underachieving stars that are Real Madrid.   

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final Review - Jose's Greatest Triumph

The semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League have given the past fortnight plenty of drama and a final, that nobody probably could have predicted way back at the start of the season.  Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan will come face-to-face with Louis Van Gaal’s Bayern Munich in Madrid on May 22^nd.  Whatever happens, either manager will become only the third coach in European Cup history to win the title with two different clubs, (Van Gaal with Ajax in 1995 & Mourinho in 2004 with FC Porto.) 

Mourinho claimed Wednesday night’s aggregate victory over his former employers, Barcelona as his greatest triumph in football history.  It was another piece of tactical masterstroke genius from Mourinho, who outwitted Carlo Ancelotti and Chelsea in Round Two, and now has Pepe Guardiola on his winning CV too.  Although Goran Pandev went down with a thigh injury moments before the game, the decision to bring Christian Chivu into the line-up, instead of another attacker was an inspired choice by the Special One.

Carrying a 3-1 lead from the first leg in the San Siro, any attacking hopes at the Nou Camp for the Italians were wiped away by a spectacular piece of playacting from Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets.  His 28^th minute ‘pole axed’ impression got the former Barca midfielder, Thiago Motta sent off, when TV replays suggested Motta only fended Busquets off, rather than elbowed him, as the reaction suggested.  Though Motta should know better for the experience he has of the big occasion, the Brazilian can count himself unlucky.  Following a bust-up involving both benches, plus some choice words between Mourinho and Guardiola, the match settled down into an attack versus defence game of chess. 

Eventually, Barcelona brokethrough with seven minutes to go, when the ex-Manchester United centre-back, Gerard Pique went forward and showed a genuine piece of quality skill that would make the insipid Zlatan Ibrahimovic eat your heart out.  His cool finish gave the Catalans the hope, which nearly turned into reality when Bojan scored in injury-time, only for the goal to be wiped out, courtesy of an earlier handball from Yaya Toure.  At the final whistle, Barcelona sank to their knees, whilst Mourinho ran onto the pitch, with one hand in the air, pointing at the Milan fans in sheer delight.  An ugly confrontation with the Spanish goalkeeper Victor Valdes followed, but it was Jose’s night and no-one was going to spoil this moment for him.

Bayern Munich had a much easier time of it, overcoming a timid Lyon outfit 4-0 on aggregate, with an impressive 3-0 success in France on Tuesday night.  Despite overcoming the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid on their way to the last four, Lyon had failed to capture my imagination and their negativity in the first leg in the Allianz Arena was horrifying to see.  Despite Franck Ribery’s crude challenge on Lisandro Lopez, which earned a deserved red card and suspension from the final, Bayern always looked in command and another stunner from Arjen Robben gave them a narrow advantage to take to the Stade de Gerland.  Although Cris’s sending off for the hosts was ridiculous, Munich found this to be comfortable Tuesday night stroll.  Croatian Ivica Olic, who scored two critical goals against Manchester United, clinched a masterful hat-trick to see the Germans progress to their first final in nine years.

For the first time in its seventeen year history, the UEFA Champions League final will be held on a Saturday night, in an effort to win more of a primetime TV audience.  Despite their being no English presence for the first time since 2004, this game could turn into a classic.  Madrid is a wonderful occasion; let’s hope we have a game to remember in three weeks time, between two of the European superpowers, who have had lean spells of late, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.  

UEFA Champions League 2nd Leg Review - The Special One Haunts The Blues

As the round of sixteen concluded, Friday’s quarter-final draw took place without some key names in European football.  Liverpool and Juventus exited the competition before Christmas, but as the leaves begin to grow on the trees and the days get longer, it turned into a dark couple of games for two giants of the game.  Neither Real Madrid, nor Chelsea have made the last eight in 2010 and for the Blues, they came up short against the ‘Special One’ that is Jose Mourinho.

Holding a 2-1 lead from the first leg in the San Siro, Jose’s Inter side came to Stamford Bridge, possibly still considered as underdogs, despite the initial advantage.  However, he got his tactics absolutely spot on against his former employees and he would have enjoyed getting one over Carlo Ancelotti and Roman Abramovich.  Inter Milan made Chelsea very ordinary, and fully highlighted the severe weaknesses still in the West London side on the big stage.  Samuel Eto’o’s goal settled the tie last Tuesday; don’t count Inter Milan out as European champions this time around, after years of constant underachievement.  This is now Mourinho’s side, and his authority over the Italians is now firmly blossoming, after a rocky inaugural season at the helm.  For Chelsea, where do they go from here?  Well, Abramovich will need to spend again if he wants Ancelotti to deliver the greatest prize in the continental game.  The deadwood like Ricardo Carvalho, John Obi Mikel, Paulo Ferreira and Deco need to be offload immediately and whilst injuries to key personnel Ashley Cole and Jose Boswinga, it’s the loss of Michael Essien that once again has shown Chelsea’s vulnerabilities well and truly.  Essien is the heartbeat; sometimes the forgotten figure of the Chelsea midfield diamond and without him, the side doesn’t look as secure and convincing.  Last month’s Premiership capitulation at home to Manchester City underlines this point.  Winning the Premiership and the FA Cup is the only way for this now to be a successful season for the Londoners.  Let’s not forget Didier Drogba’s act of frustration and stupidity.  Already on a suspended sentence, he faces a possible long European ban, if UEFA decide to take action on his stamp on Thiago Motta in the closing stages.  He will be lucky if he only ends up with the red card from the game, and no further punishment.

Underachieving is something Real Madrid is very consistent at.  Not since 2004 have the Galactios made it to the quarter-finals, and even the likes of Ronaldo, Kaka, Alonso etc could not overcome a Lyon side, which may be full of young talent, but is a very unimpressive all-round unit.  However, both Liverpool and Madrid have fallen foul of Lyon, so they shouldn’t be discounted in the final reckoning.  Expect Madrid to spend heavily again this summer, with the likes of Franck Ribery and possibly Fernando Torres expected to join the bandwagon.  However, the proven fact is that money does not buy you success.  On the other hand, Barcelona romped home against VFB Stuttgart, with another mesmerising performance from Lionel Messi.  Two more wonder goals from the Argentine, Barca must be made favourites to retain the trophy. 

Their closest challenge could come from England, in the form of Manchester United and Arsenal.  In Wayne Rooney, United have the form player in the world at the moment.  He ripped AC Milan apart to shreds, and their defence is one of the best in the world.  United are always around in the final reckoning, don’t be surprised if they go all the way to the final again.  After a sketchy first-leg performance in Portugal, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal shot FC Porto down 5-0 in the return, with ease.  Niklas Bendtner scored an unlikely hat-trick, they just don’t do dull football.  With Robin Van Persie due back soon, the Gunners could gun their way through to the pinnacle on May 22^nd.  However, with a Messi-inspired Barcelona in the way, they will have to go about it the hard way.

Finally, well done to Bordeaux, an excellent and efficient team unit, Bayern Munich, always there as a pest in the quarter-finals and the Russians from CSKA Moscow, who are the first Russian side to reach the last eight of the UEFA Champions League since 1996.  They overcame highly-fancied Sevilla, with a shock win in Spain.  Considering the lack of football they have, with the Russian season having finished way back in November, this is some achievement.

The quarter-final draw was made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon on Friday and it has pitted the following ties together:

Lyon v Bordeaux

Bayern Munich v Manchester United

Arsenal v Barcelona

Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow

It’s anyone’s game…who has the class, quality and panache to win this year’s UEFA Champions League.  Whoever it will be is a deserved champion….

UEFA Champions League 1st Leg Review - Still All In The Balance

Europe’s premier club competition returned over the past fortnight and the eight ties remain all firmly open in the balance.  No clear-cut winners and for the remaining triumvirate of English sides left in the UEFA Champions League, it was a mixed bag.

Premiership leaders Chelsea came up against an old friend in the San Siro.  After all the mind games and the frenzied build-up, Jose Mourinho got one over Carlo Ancelotti, as Inter Milan take a 2-1 lead back to Stamford Bridge for the rerun in three weeks time.  Crucially, Salomon Kalou’s away goal gives the Londoners a major say in the second leg.  It was a night of misfortune for Chelsea in Milan, with the damaging loss to goalkeeper Petr Cech a possible severe implication for the rest of their European and domestic campaign.  Cech went down unchallenged midway through the second half, with the initial diagnosis a possible cruciate ligament injury.  Though, not in the best form of his career, his impact among the Chelsea backline will be severely missed if the extent of the injury is confirmed as feared.  Kalou may have scored, but was also denied a certain penalty when shoved over by experienced Argentine Walter Samuel when clear in on goal.  Despite the setback of losing, Chelsea will still fancy their chances at the Bridge, but may need more than one goal to see off the ‘Special One.’

A week earlier, Manchester United had a fantastic result in the San Siro themselves, overcoming AC Milan 3-2, even if their performance wasn’t the best.  Wayne Rooney is in the form of his career, with two more crucial headers giving Sir Alex Ferguson’s side a massive advantage to take back to Old Trafford.  At times, Milan outfoxed United, with their clever movements, but their frontline, particularly Pato were extremely wasteful infront of goal.  Both Ronaldinho and an emotional David Beckham (for obvious reasons) played their part and rolled back the years with some of their silky touches.  However, like many in the side, their legs ran out of gas and United took full advantage of their fatigue in the second half.  It will be incredibly tough for Leonardo’s Serie A oldies to turn around this deficit at the Theatre of Dreams.

For Arsenal, it was a very frustrating and flapping night in Portugal.  Schoolboy defending and horrific goalkeeping led to their downfall in the Dragao, as FC Porto take a 2-1 advantage back to the Emirates.  Granted, Arsenal played well and shouldn’t have much trouble in the return, against the 2004 winners, but what can’t be hidden was Lukasz Fabianksi’s sloppy handling, which led to both goals.  The second Porto goal was nothing sort of a sketch more likely to be seen on the Armstrong & Miller show.  Although the referee didn’t cover himself in glory, by blocking Sol Campbell during the indirect free-kick process, Arsenal’s lethargic attitude to get back, coupled with Fabianski’s inability to read the UEFA Basic Football Rules Handbook meant Porto were always going to be onto a winner.  Arsene Wenger may have tried to find excuses as usual, in his post-match interview, but the infallibilities cannot be disguised in this situation.

Elsewhere in Europe, favourites and holders Barcelona’s erratic form in this season’s competition continued.  They were lucky to escape from VFB Stuttgart with a 1-1 draw.  Bitter rivals Real Madrid did even worse.  Even Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo had off-nights in their 1-0 loss at their bogey side Lyon, beaten by a wonderful solo effort from Jean Makoun.  Bayern Munich needed a shambolic linesman decision to beat Fiorentina 2-1 in Germany, deciding that Miroslav Klose was onside, when he was standing at least five yards offside.  Finally, keep an eye out on Bordeaux, who recorded an impressive 1-0 success in Greece against Olympiakos.  After almost surreal progress from a tough-looking group, including Bayern and Juventus, no-one will want to meet Laurent Blanc’s inform side in the latter stages, providing they finish off the job in France in the second leg.

It is all open and nothing is assured, the road to Madrid has firmly begun but in this season’s UEFA Champions League, anything is possible, anything.